Hope[ful/less]: Tales of Western Modernity

Once again I present a new mix, as promised.

This mix had a more interesting process of concoction than the last. At first it was simply a mix of songs I had either acquired recently or had decided I wanted to spread around to my friends but as it formed I noticed a pattern. The songs either bubbled over with hope or were as hopeless as can be about our generation. The most important track, the one that made me come to the realization, is “Nobody Would Riot for Less” by Bright Eyes, but more on that one later.
Let’s get going already:

Hope(ful/less) : Tales of Western Modernity

[Download entire mix in .zip format]*

Hope in the Prison of Despair by Evelyn De Morgan
(Gotta love those Pre-Raphaelites)

1. Invasion - Eisley (Combinations)
   -I completely adore the sound of this band. The harmonious voices of the DuPree sisters, paired with an indie rock sound that’s just a bit less than sweet, is the combination that makes this band work. I must admit, though I fell for them through their album Room Noises, I did enjoy the earlier takes of some of the tracks on their various EP’s much more. Tracks on the polished LP lacked the “punch” that the EP versions held. However, I am excited to report that Eisley is back on top and in great form. “Invasion” is wonderful. The lyrics are based on [Invasion of] the Body Snatchers but for purposes of the mix I took it as the disastrous effects the constant social conformity that exists in this culture. (I think the story of the novel is to be taken that way, too.) [Note: Eisley’s name comes from the Mos Eisely spaceport on Tatooine. It’s quite fun that they’re writing about aliens.] [Another note: It’s also interesting that this song has been released in the eve of The Invasion starring Nicole Kidman and Daniel Craig.]
   
   







2. Tonight I Have To Leave It - Shout Out Louds (Our Ill Wills)
   - I think what causes us most hope and misery is love and the lack of it. This song is about giving love and never finding reciprocation. It is semi-sad, yet hopeful, because the narrator decides to leave and (I’m guessing) look for real love elsewhere. I really enjoy the sound of this song, it reminds me some of The Cure. It’s a great and enjoyable listen. Sometimes I feel the song is much too short, but I think the concise nature of the three minute song is something hard to master… and Shout Out Louds have done it.
   
   
   







3. Wraith Pinned To The Mist & Other Games - Of Montreal (The Sunlandic Twins)
   - Now, here’s a song that is packed with meaning that might be pretty elusive to the casual listener. This song is about (like the grander theme of the mix) finding hope in someone else when disappointed in the world: “Let’s pretend we don’t exist, Let’s pretend we’re in Antarctica.”It might sound really dumb and excessively jolly but once you listen closely to the lyrics, you can tell that the band didn’t simply write a catchy song. It was thought through. Lines alluding to classic literature might tip you off [”We’ll play Tristan and Isolde, but make sure I see white sails”] and I think it’s great. The constant need we feel to escape or, I’m sorry, ‘vacation’ with the ones we love is presented here.
   
   







4. Breakfast in America - Supertramp (Breakfast In America)
   -Ah, Supertramp. I know, the song was written thirty years ago, but I think it is very interesting even today. I’ve given it some more thought since my post on it. Hodges wrote the song long before he had ever visited America, so the vision he presents is an idealised one, and yet, it is in a slightly mocking tone. He talks about America as kind of a promised land, and in ways it is (because of its wealth) but as many have found, there’s not much soul.
   
   







5. We Used To Vacation - Cold War Kids (Robbers & Cowards)
   - And here’s the perfect example of the soullessness. People in the United States know how very lucky they are and still live awful lives with addictions that are harmful to a whole family, like alcoholism. This song deals with the difference between intent and action through the eyes of an alcoholic father. The sound of the song is great. The discordant guitar is greatly symbolic of the disorienting affects of alcohol. What’s wonderful about the structure of the song is the musical intensity of the verses contrasted with the key change of the “sober” chorus.
   
   







6. Icky Thump - The White Stripes (Icky Thump)
   - This song hits some important issues in the US today, not just emotional and social, but political as well. The heated topic of Mexican-American Immigration is touched on in this song, but it is not as an immature claim (like Linkin Park’s new album) but simply part of the human interactions within the song. That’s what makes the claim effective. And here’s the twist: this song is on the Hopeful side of the mix. Take a read: “Handcuffed to a bunk/ Robbed blind/Looked around / And there was nobody else / Left alone / I hit myself with a stone / Went home and learned how / To clean up after myself. ” It’s about picking yourself up after a stupid mistake. The brilliance lies in that the message is not only an individual “picking up”, either.
   
   







7. Mama - My Chemical Romance featuring Liza Minnelli (The Black Parade)
   -Another tale of a broken family. As I said before, at the core of hope there is love. That’s definitely lacking here. This hopeless song shows the detached belief of the whole of humanity being damned for our terrible lives and our wars (not only in the literal sense, either). The sound of this song is semi-Eastern European and I think that since it held such modern Western themes and was penned by an American band, it was essential to the mix. Also, Liza Minnelli’s performance as “Mama” is incredible.
   
   







8. Boring - The Pierces (Thirteen Tales of Love and Revenge)
   -Speaking of essential, this song must be about Paris Hilton and her entourage. It’s brilliant and, sadly, so, so true. “Nothing thrills us anymore/ No one kills us anymore / Life is such a chore when it’s boring.” I think captures exactly what is wrong with so many Americans. We’re bored. We want to be entertained constantly and it’s an incredibly gluttonous idea. I really enjoy the sound of this song; the way the sisters drag their voices is magnificent in relation to the lyrics of the song.
   
   
   
   







9. Shaken - Shiny Toy Guns (We Are Pilots)
   - This is a very intriguing song. The lyrics seem to promote resistance to something, but what it is never made explicit. It could be to conformity, or a woman, but that’s the beauty of music and lyrics. Like I have said before,”Shaken” takes a while to pick up, but when it does it is a memorable track with numerous throwbacks to 80s power-ballads.
   







10. Wonderful Life - Gwen Stefani (The Sweet Escape)
    - Don’t let the sound of the song fool you and don’t let Ms. Hollabackgurl repel you: give this song a listen. Granted, it’s not brilliant, but the story behind it gives it good weight. Stefani wrote this song about her first “love” who ultimately committed suicide, the lyrics tell the story of the hopeless youth and the woman he left behind who has found wonder in her life. This song remained in the mix because of the near-epidemic of depression in the alleged “paradise” that is the United States. The song is very hopeful in the face of much sadness, which could be said for all the “hopeful” tracks on the mix.
    
    
    







11. Littlest Things - Lily Allen (Alright, Still)
    -Lily Allen is surprising. Unlike most British import artists, she lives up to the hype. The constant sampling paired with smart, snarky, and witty lyrics, accompanied by a sweet voice make her a very diversified artist to digest. She settles well. “Littlest Things” is Ms. Allen’s take on a love song and it’s more real than some with the best lyricism. It is a sweet song that doesn’t eat those real moments, “I know it sounds lame but it’s so true.”
    
    







12. All My Love - Led Zeppelin (In Through the Out Door)
    -Again, I know this song was written the late 1970s, but it is such a primal sentiment (lyrically) that makes it classic. Robert Plant wrote this song as a tribute to his son who died at the age of 5. And, not to sound all J.K. Rowling, love is at the core of hope. “Yours is the cloth, mine is the hand that sews time/his is the force that lies within/Ours is the fire, all the warmth we can find/He is a feather in the wind.” It holds such a sacramental view of sex and the sacred nature of family that, frankly, I am surprised (and glad) that the public likes this band. (I only wish people would actually delve into the music.) The beautiful representation of the familial bond is what made this song crucial to the mix, it is something we do not cherish enough in our western civilizations. I love the late 70s sound of this song and of course the key change near the end makes me joyful.
    
    
    







13. Fiery Crash -Andrew Bird (Armchair Apocrypha)
    - Andrew Bird’s lyrics are so full of meaning I could write an extremely long post about these lyrics alone. Then I might have to devote another to his incredible musical composition. The song talks about (literally) taking a flight without flippancy. We have such a way of taking things in life the fast-food American way, everything on the go. “It’s just a formality/why must I explain?/just a nod to mortality/before you get on a plane”. Brilliant, Monsieur Bird.
    
    
    







14. Umbrella - Scott Simons
    - What would a Summer 2007 mix be without Rihanna’s “Umbrella-ella-ella”? Don’t change the track just yet, though. The good Mr. Simons has covered the song masterfully with a Postal Service air to the song that I would have never imagined to work. And it does. I really like this song now. The song is, surprisingly, quite lyrically interesting and the umbrella metaphor is unique and not terrible. The song is about committment through thick and thin. Tired? I think not! Give this song a listen, it really redefines the mega radio sensation.
    
    
    
    
    
    







15. Ventura Highway - America (Homecoming)
    -Growing up in Omaha, Nebraska, vocalist Dewey Bunnell imagined getting out of town to better his life, the American dream. In his hit, the place he imagines is Ventura Highway. [The Californian freeway is situated along the coast, which makes the drive gorgeous.] This is a reminiscent feeling of the song earlier in the mix, “Breakfast In America”. There is, however, a difference between the songs because here you find an honest longing for beauty not found in Supertramp’s hit. In “Ventura Highway”, there is hope for a better life in such a beautiful place, though it might not actually be there. Mixing of this track is spectacular; the song, recorded in 1972, was not produced by Beatles mega-producer George Martin (like a great amount of their later tracks were) yet it still sounds fresh and fantastic.
    
    
    







16. I Want to Know Your Plans - Say Anything (...Is A Real Boy)
    - This song falls under the “love is hope” category. It’s a very modern song with a man singing to a twenty-first century woman in a long-distance relationship. It is very hopeful, though. The chorus of the song is what made me decide to keep this in mix: “You’re what keeps me believing/the world’s not gone dead”. It captures the love/hope relationship quite well. This is a song that Say Anything had written long before most of the songs in their major-label debut, …Is A Real Boy. Since I am not personally a fan of their new material, (I don’t think songs about phone-sex promote truth or beauty and are therefore bad.) I welcomed the more polished version of the track presented here because it is still part of the time the band kept up with good songwriting.
    
    
    







17. Song For Clay (Disappear Here) - Bloc Party (A Weekend In the City)
    -This track and the next are the reasons the theme of the mix came to be. Initially, I had planned to place these songs together simply because they flowed into each other well. I quickly realized that they had similar themes but different outcomes. In “Song for Clay”, the lyrics have the narrator “disappear” in the terrible events surrounding him and those he takes part in. With no hope, he delves into this lifestyle never to sober. [For more on this song, read my post about it.]
    
    







18. No One Would Riot For Less - Bright Eyes (Cassadaga)
    -Conor Oberst is seldom-if-ever cheerful in his music. It is quite interesting to find him present his depressing and honest interpretation of life but end the song such a - I daresay-happy manner (for Oberst, at least). This is the most important track of the mix. The dichotomy of a hopeful person in an abysmal setting (Oberst’s “hell”) gave birth to the idea of the name of the mix: Hope (ful/less) <- Feel free to circle one. It promotes the idea of making the choice to have hope. Conor sees that “hell is here” but instead of accepting it like the narrator in “Song for Clay”, he doesn’t “disappear [t]here”; he decides to “leave this place” and only take the proverbial “you”. (Now, somebody might argue that this song is about a Romeo & Juliet-esque suicide-pact thing, but I feel that such a notion is simply ludicrous.) I think that, in relation to this mix, this song is about leaving an idea of despair about the world’s condition (”this place”) to adopt a hopeful one with love at it’s core. “There’s nothing I plan to take, just you.”
    
    







19. Black Is the Color - Espers (The Weed Tree)
    -
    To be sure that I ended on an even mushier note, I added classic folk song “Black Is The Color” as reinterpreted by the band Espers. (The good thing is it is not too saccharine.) I think that this song is a folk classic because of its truly beautiful lyrics about giving oneself completely, something that is timeless. And not to drill the whole hope/love thing into your head, but… enough said.

It might be apparent that I fell under the Hopeful side.

*Because of the cohesive nature of this mix, I have decided to only make the songs available together in a .zip file, which you can download here. Please download it. You won’t be sorry.

Here’s the link, just in case: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=01RCJ4R4

Enjoy!


What side do you fall under? Please leave me a comment with your opinion about the mix.

Regina Spektor is hard not to love.

There are not many female artists who speak English as a first language (insert promotion for Shakira here) whose artistry as a musician I'm completely infatuated with. Regina Spektor is at the top of that short list.

Spektor is an artist that delivers for every mood. She owns both loopy, experimental tracks and simply beautiful love songs that are hard to not sing along to. An astounding songwriter in her own right, Spektor is also accomplished as both a formidable pianist and a phenomenal vocalist.

Don't believe me? Take a listen:

"Love Affair" by Regina Spektor [Download!]

This track is the opener of Regina's debut 11:11 its unique sound is very grabbing and makes me wish I had heard this when it came out in 2001, my music taste might have been better because of it. I think this represents Spektor's sound outstandingly well. She shows off her vocal ability while keeping true to her odd lyrics and brilliant instrumentation.

Speaking of odd lyrics, "Love Affair" tells the story of a ...well, I think you can gather what the story's about. The second verse to the end tells the "legend" about the engineer and (though this may be debatable) his girlfriend [with whom he may have a child] or wife's mother. This just gives you some insight on Regina Spektor's quirky songwriting.

Regina Spektor's newest album, Begin to Hope may be one of my favorite albums ...ever. Some fans may complain about the more radio-friendly style of the album in comparison to her first two albums but I think it is not a ploy. It is simply part of her craft as a musician.

Here's some radio friendly Spektor:

"Fidelity" [Download!]

This track falls into Spektor's "infectious love song" category but it is still very much a Regina Spektor song: it has her telltale vocal ingenuity (you know, the "it breaks my hea-a-a-a-a-a-art" thing, ...I know it can't really be translated to text, just listen to it.) and it has interesting instrumental backing with good amounts of piano. I think she made a great choice to open her album with "Fidelity". This song, like all of Spektor's catalogue, is a joy to listen to.

And what, in my opinion is her best song:

"Après Moi" [Download!]

The title of the song is French for "after me" ("après moi le déluge/ after me comes the flood"). The grandiose sound and magnificent build of this song aren't the only aspects of it that make it exceptional, the lyrics are astounding. There's much debate about the meaning of the song.

There are clear historical and literary references in the song which sends it to another level of dissection. The line "après moi, le déluge" comes from Madame de Pompadour, an important mistress of King Louis XV of France in the mid 1700s. Pompadour has been accused of being the reason France went into talks to ally with Austria and Russia before the Seven Years War. When the war was nearing a close and it was apparent that France was to lose she uttered the famous line "après nous, le déluge". She was right, after all. (Not forty years later did the French Revolution occur.) Now, in terms of the song, why on Earth would Spektor decide to use this quote? Let's have a look at the lyrics:

I must go on standing
You can't break that which isn't yours
I must go on standing
I'm not my own, it's not my choice

Be afraid of the lame
They'll inherit your legs
Be afraid of the old
They'll inherit your souls
Be afraid of the cold
They'll inherit your blood
Après moi, le déluge
After me comes the flood

[That's the English part of the song, we'll deal with the Russian in a bit.]

Well, there is a good amount of talk of "inheritance" (i.e. taking) of human necessities throughout the song. I do not think she's writing songs for centuries-old French aristocracy, I think it's more of a scathing social commentary about American ideals and society. She says "I must go on standing" presenting herself as the heroine against the misguided ways of our materialistic society. She tells people to be afraid of the weak not because they will "inherit" their iPhones or their SUV's but of things that are important for existence (legs, blood, and souls). She has become Pompadour saying. "Après moi, le déluge." Kind of the, I'm warning you. Its a prophecy, in the Biblical sense. Like all the prophets of the Old Testament who bring the word of God, urging peoples to change their ways before imminent destruction.

I know, you're thinking. "Hold on- Regina Spektor is a prophet? HUH?!"

No, she's playing with the idea of revealing prophesy. The most evidence of this is in the line "I'm not my own, it's not my choice." She, as the prophet, "must go on standing" because she must impart the truth, warn the peoples of imminent doom, et cetera. [I don't know what Spektor's religious views are and I'm not placing any on her. I do know, however, she grew up Jewish. That must have informed this.]

Her internal struggle as the prophet is shown when she sings a part of the Russian poem "Feburary" by Boris Pasternak ( the Nobel prize winner of Dr. Zhivago fame).

февраль
достать чернил и
плакатьписать о
феврале навзрыд
пока
грохочущая
слякоть
весною чёрною горит

(translation:)
February. Get ink, shed tears.
Write of it, sob your heart out, sing,
While torrential slush that roars
Burns in the blackness of the spring.

This verse of the poem chronicles the intensity of what she feels she must do. In a time of roaring fire (seemingly volcanic) [fire and brimstone, anyone?] she must"write of it, sob [her] heart out, [and] sing."

This is why the sound of the song is so important. It gets the message across. It starts with dark, commanding piano along with her bare voice. Throughout the song instruments keep building 'till its climax, creating a beautiful yet epic sound (see: the use of horns and bells) that is all the while mournful. [That's why it's my favorite song.]

It's a really interesting piece.

Regina Spektor is one of the great artists of our time, I seriously hope you to listen to her and support her, this woman needs to be remembered.

What do you think of Regina Spektor? Do you think my interpretation of "Après Moi" is far fetched? Tell me about it. Please leave me a comment!

A Song for Clay

Bloc Party is not a band I've given an adequate chance. Yes, I own their debut, Silent Alarm but I never found it exceptionally appealing. Don't get me wrong, I think their music, which is a cool mix of indie and brit pop/rock, is fun and interesting, but for some reason I never really felt a serious want to listen to their music.

I had heard that their sophomore effort, A Weekend In the City was a notable achievement, but for whatever reason, my fancy wasn't really ever tickled. Until now.

The opening song of A Weekend in the City is an incredible track, worth more than multiple listens. The lyrics are wonderful, based on a Bret Easton Ellis novel Less Than Zero, the track captures the desolation of the life in London (like the book tried to create for the city of Los Angeles. It's called "Song for Clay (Disappear Here)" [Download]. Clay is the name of the main character in Less Than Zero.

The opening lines are most interesting, "I am trying to be heroic in an age of modernity." There's a constant juxtaposition with life in today's "modern" world with history or the past, assuming that people had emotion then. The idea of being detached from emotion and the belief that everything is ultimately the sway of entropy is the prevalent theme of the song. Reviews of Ellis' novel say that he attempts to do the same. Less than Zero chronicles Clay's winter visit to his hometown, L.A. and the odd and destructive things he notices people do there (and that he does himself). "People are afraid to merge on freeways in Los Angeles" is a recurring line in the book and again in the song (minus the Los Angeles part). The subtitle of the song, "Disappear Here" is found often in the book on billboards throughout the city (a la Great Gatsby).

[Take a look at the CD cover and look at its title, ...I really like these guys.]

The composition of the song is what makes it most interesting. The start of the song is a silent confession of apathy then a driving, seemingly electronic beat begins backed by heavy guitar and base. The song becomes a fast-paced moody conglomerate of sound until the bridge slows the song and Kele Okereke exclaims that "East London is a vampire that sucks the joy right out of me!" A choir of bases crescendoes in the background until the song regains its driving beat that is sustained 'till its end.

Download: "Song For Clay (Disappear Here)" by Bloc Party

Please give this track a listen. It's a great piece.

[Side note: you'll be interested to know that the title of the book, Less Than Zero comes from an Elvis Costello song. So in essence the tale has come full circle with this song.]

What do you think of the song? Please leave me a comment!

Breakfast In America / Cupid's Chokehold

"Take A look at my girlfriend, she's the only one I've got. Not much of a girlfriend, I never seem to get a lot."

This is the opening line of "Breakfast in America" by Supertramp. The song was a hit on the airwaves in 1979 but written about 12 years earlier by singer Roger Hodgson. Calling it an "innocent song", Hodgson admits to the lack of depth in the song, simply chalking it up to the fact that he wrote it when he was 17. However, it's a catchy song and now a new generation is taking a listen. You should too:

Download: Breakfast in America - Supertramp (1979)

Sound familiar? It might. A few months ago, hip-hop "band" Gym Class Heroes used the opening line and catchy melody of "Breakfast in America" as the hook to their hit song "Cupid's Chokehold." The hook is sung by Fall Out Boy's Patrick Stump, it was surprising because he has, apart from actually understandable few lines, an uncanny similarity in vocal timbre to Hodgson. Take a listen:

Download: Cupid's Chokehold - Gym Class Heroes (2006)

I think I may like the Supertramp version better. I think the song is more coherent, lyrically. I don't have anything against hip-hop and I think that the fact Gym Class Heroes use only real instruments to make their music is fantastic. The instrumentation in both songs is very good and very different, I like covers. I feel "Breakfast in America" is an easier, more engaging listen.

What do you think of the songs? Please leave me a comment!

A Most Vicious Crime

Every month or so I make a mix CD I hand out to my friends that encompasses the music I've been listening to since the time of the last mix. If you ask any of them about them they'll probably say that I spend an excessive amount of time on them. I spend all that time perfecting the playlist and the flow of the mix as well as making it accessible to those who listen to certain types of music or (like me) all types of music.

The latest of these is called 'A Most Vicious Crime'. I've already uploaded some tracks from this mix on to the site but I intend from now on to post at most 5 of the tracks from the mixes to promote the artists and to let people sample what I consider to be their best songs.

The name of the mix, A Most Vicious Crime comes from the opening track Sparta's "The Most Vicious Crime" from their third album Threes. I do not always have a running theme throughout these mixes. However, I name the mixes through either extremely impacting lyrics or titles that might run true to at least two or three tracks on the CD.

Let's Get Started!

A Most Vicious Crime - Mix by Siulelbon, Summer 2007

1. The Most Vicious Crime - Sparta (Threes) [Download!]
   - I hadn't completely listened to this song before I fell for it. I first heard parts of it on the trailer for the band's independent short film, Eme Nakia about drummer Tony Hajjar's young life. You can see it here. (The movie features Pablo Orrantia as young Tony, who incidentally is one of my younger brother's best friends. The band Sparta hails from El Paso, Texas like myself.) The monumental build and fall of the song is what makes this track worthwhile.
   
   
2. Starts With One - Shiny Toy Guns (We Are Pilots) [Download!]
   -Please see my post on Shiny Toy Guns for my opinion on both the band and this song.
   
   
3. The Underdog - Spoon (Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga) [Download!]
   - Spoon has created this great upbeat song for their upcoming album (Which I call Ga x 5) once again exploring a new sound that is highly effective. The song features a very happy horn section making the song both fun, poppy and grand (as in, big). What I love about this band is their deceptive sound, much like The Killers' Hot Fuss, which almost hides the meaning of the lyrics behind catchy melodies and amazing production.
   
   
   
   
4. Time Wont Let Me Go - The Bravery (The Sun and the Moon)
   -The first single off the Bravery's sophomore album has the same deceptive sound as "The Underdog", the lyrics are mournful yet the song sounds light and fun. The dichotomy is very intriguing to me because it works so well. [The section of 'ba ba ba's' near the end of the song is marvelous.]
   





5. Scythian Empires - Andrew Bird (Armchair Apocrypha) [Download!]
   -Andrew Bird is quickly becoming one of my favorite artists. The wonderful melodies complimented by intricate instrumentation and lyrics this and most of his songs hold makes listening to Mr. Bird an experience in itself. If that doesn't make the song notable to you, maybe his whistling solo will.








6. Either/Or - Elliott Smith (New Moon)
   -Part of the posthumously released collection of B-sides and demos, the absent title track of his album Either/Or is revealed. It's a compelling track which has that aforementioned deceptiveness I like so much. Listening to Smith is heartbreaking. I suggest you do it, your heart may just need that.






7. Cold As Ice - Foreigner (Foreigner: Greatest Hits)
   - Yes, Foreigner. This song is interesting to listen to in this day because so much pop-rock music has begun to emulate this style of music. Also, the production of this 1977 classic is incredible. The song is huge featuring synth strings, a piano, a chorus of Lou Gramms and of course a good rock beat and guitar.






8. I've Got All This Ringing In My Ears And None On My Fingers - Fall Out Boy (Infinity On High)
   -This is one of the bands I was talking about which has begun emulating 70s rock or 70s music in general. The opening of the song sounds straight out of the 70s with a piano, beat, horns and again, synth strings. My only beef with this song is that it goes in strong and then devolves into another Fall Out Boy song. Disappointing. One day this band will reach its potential, that and I hope that Patrick Stump will begin to correctly pronounce words while singing in his God-given key.






9. Makes Me Wonder - Maroon 5 (It Won't Be Soon Before Long)
   -Hearing a pattern? The band's chart-topping single sounds like a disco/funk song from, you guessed it, the 1970s. This song is far from exceptional but it makes for a fun time and that's always great for a summer mix.






10. Throw It On Me (Feat. The Hives) - Timbaland (Timbaland Presents: Shock Value)
    -The single from the megaproducer's "solo" album features rock band The Hives. Timbaland once again proves that the studio is an instrument, too by melding hip-hop and rock in an exquisite and unique way. I have never heard a track like this.
    
    




11. Alfie - Lily Allen (Alright, Still)
    - Lily Allen blows me away. She's cute and funny with witty lyrics and light concepts propelled by creative sampling and really great beats. This song is truly worth a listen.






12. Secret - The Pierces (Thirteen Tales of Love and Revenge)
    - This song is very high concept. The opening song of the Pierce sisters' debut grabs you, holds you down makes you listen. It is obvious that the girls had a great time making this track - their enthusiasm is infectious.








13. The Bird and the Worm - The Used (Lies for the Liars) [Download!]
    -Check out my post on this song. Since then I've learned that this song is pretty addictive.






14. Teenagers - My Chemical Romance (The Black Parade)
    - Many people compare My Chemical Romance with The Used but I feel that they have grown into two very separate entities both with different sounds. This track, out of MCR's masterful The Black Parade cries out as a tribute to big 1980s rock. The guitarwork is stellar.






15. Mind Reader - Silverchair (Young Modern)
    - Young Modern is not yet available in the United States. The band's fifth album is a smash hit in their native Australia. The band has once again re-invented their sound and even this track has so many layers of influence it's hard to decide what genre to attribute to it. If one must, they should make it broad, like 'Rock' or something.
    
    




16. Move Away - The Killers (Spider-Man 3 OST)
    - I love this band. It's one of those few bands that because of their constant output of quality music, in my eyes can do no wrong. They will always have the benefit of the doubt with me. This song is from the new (disappointing) Spider-Man film which had a phenomenal soundtrack. This song, of course, is one of my favorites. The bridge about "jumping out of my skin" is gorgeous. I don't know if I would classify the song as one of the band's best but it is a great deal better than anything you'd hear on the radio lately.
    
    




17. One On One - Illinois (What The Hell Do I Know?)
    -The Pennsylvanian band, Illinois' (odd, I know) first EP is packed with songs that each have a very different sound, making it a remarkable listen. "One on One" is poppy and catchy, though not all of their stuff is. I suggest you pick up a copy at a local record store or on iTunes. Support an indie band today.






18. New Shoes - Paolo Nutini (These Streets)
- This song goes around, I think I heard it on a commercial for AT&T the other day. The Scottish singer has a very cool voice, in my opinion. the song is catchy and good. The song isn't actually about a new pair of shoes. It's about deciding to change your life. You know, like the expression "walking in someone else's shoes" it's a spin on that. I think it's a good song, maybe Nutini will make some more interesting music in the future, I think he has good potential.






19. Stolen - Dashboard Confessional (Dusk and Summer)
- This song was released about one year ago but Chris Carraba, the man that once made up the whole of Dashboard Confessional, and his company re-released the album Dusk and Summer with an uptempo take of the song in which Carraba's voice is much more agreeable. (I.E. not as whiny.) The new take is great, I had actually included the original on a mix I made a year ago but I much prefer this version of the track.






20. Make A Plan To Love Me - Bright Eyes (Cassadaga) [Download!]
-Cassadaga might have already been my favorite album of the year if this year hadn't seen light to Wilco's Sky Blue Sky (but more on that later). This song is one of Conor Oberst's most beautiful ballads. The song is beautifully written both lyrically and instrumentally. The string sections are sweet, the acoustic guitar is touching and the horns are soothing. The backup vocals of the lead singers of the band Eisley, the DuPree sisters, (especially near the chorus) give a 1950s air to the song (and just make it so much more beautiful.) The lyrics long for reciprocating love and they also show how Oberst's perception of it has grown. He's understanding of the other person's desire to know the world: "Life's too short to be a fool, I don't owe you that. Do what you feel, whatever's cool. But I just have to ask, will you make a plan to love me sometime soon?"






21. The Story - Brandi Carlile (The Story) [Download!]
- See my last post for my feelings on this gorgeous song.






22. On and On and On - Wilco (Sky Blue Sky) [Download!]
    -This song is emotionally impacting. The last track of Wilco's brilliant new album Sky Blue Sky is a perfect endnote. The song is about life and love, more specifically the eternality of them. "Please don't cry, we're designed to die" is repeated throughout the song as well as "On and on and on, we'll be together, yeah." The woman that he is talking to, the woman he loves, must fear death because as humans it is hard to not see it as an end. At the beginning of the song he tells her "don't deny what's inside" and at it's climax he tells her "this world of words and meanings makes you feel outside, something that you feel already, deep inside. You've denied, go ahead and cry." This suggests that by the end she understands that she has denied the truth of eternal life. It's beautiful and powerful and extremely subtle, but then, isn't life? To deny it is a most vicious crime.
    

(Yes, all of these tracks fit on one CD)

What do you think of the mix and the tracks? Please leave me a comment!

The Story

The most curious thing happened to me today.

I listened to a song and it immediately gave me chills. Those kind of chills that make you choke up. That kind of feeling when you know that a piece of music just fits within your heart. A song you're sure you've known all along, like the melody has always been with you but you could have never found the notes. That's what this song is to me.

"The Story" - Brandi Carlile

[Please listen to the song before reading any further. I would rather you not expect this, I didn't. Oh, and turn it up.]

Oh, but the artist is the most important part. I had heard the woman's voice before this but it had never hit home like it did here. There are artists who are meant to sing the songs of other artists and then there are Brandi Carliles. Her powerful yet sweet voice is full of soul. If it had been any other voice singing "The Story", it just wouldn't have been as impacting.

The song is lyrically a beautiful ballad that's very, dare I say-old school, a song that's classic.

It's the unexpected punch of the guitar that just blew me away. It's one of the most beautiful love songs I have heard and the juxtaposition or somewhat accordance of Carlile's gorgeous vocals with the electric guitar makes it even more exceptional.

I guess it's my love for powerful women's voices and rock music plus my recent conversion to country (not pop country) that makes the song so powerful to me.

"The Story" is one of the best songs I've heard that has been released in the past 5 years. I hope you can agree that it is at least a great song.

What do you think of the song? Leave me a comment!

Can I interest you in some Shiny Toy Guns?

What do you get when you have European techno pop infused with brit-pop/rock?

Shiny Toy Guns.

In the last few decades music genres have become a bit blurry. Shiny Toy Guns fits into all the genres mentioned above, but the finished product gels so well that it becomes a genre of its own. The electro-pop/rock of Shiny Toy Guns is exceptional because it is not repetitive. Each song on their debut "We Are Pilots" brings something new to the table, every track is decidedly different from the last.



"We Are Pilots" may sound like different bands throughout the record, yet it has a seemingly complete feeling as an album. That is a feat not many have achieved, let alone on a debut album. With both male and female vocals, the group expands boundaries. Some tracks are duets between Chad Petree and Carah Charnow and others feature only either of their voices which creates an interesting listening experience. Few bands have blended electronica and rock this well without having 12-minute tracks.

Tracks of note:

Track 1 "You Are The One" is a duet with heavy synth but with rock sensibility. It is a masterfully produced track (as all of the songs on the record are) that may leave the casual listener with a false idea of the rest of the band's catalogue. Until the next track explodes through the speakers.

Track 2 "Le Disko" is vocally dominated by Charnow with a jumpy beat and melody that makes it one of the most effective electro-rock/pop tracks ever created. The song has a magnificent build: it stops exactly when it needs to, it grasps the listener with mounting intensity and the bridge is significantly different than the rest of the song (keeping it interesting). And just when the listener might think they understand where the album is going, the next track begins.

Track 3 "Starts With One" takes a darker turn by taking a moodier, more impacting sound with anthemic guitar riffs and a very effective synth string section. Petree's voice carries the melody with a sense of longing and intimacy that is remarkable for the large sound of the track. This is easily the best song off the album.

Track 5 "Don't Cry Out" features Charnow's voice prominently yet it sounds different than in previous songs. (Except for maybe the brilliant bridge of "Le Disko".) It's an electronic/pop ballad that works very well yet is not up to par with the first three gems of the album.

Track 7 "Waiting" sounds like it was ripped out of the 1980's. The distortion on Petree's voice and the slow, driving synth (along with ambient noises) in the song make it a stand out that makes it a definite take-it-or-leave-it track. I chose to take it and it worked out marvellously for me.

Track 8 "Rainy Monday" is pure, unadulterated pop music. It sounds like a hit song from a soundtrack from a 1990's movie. Take that as you may.

Track 10 "Shaken" takes a while to pick up, but when it does it reaches the status of one of the most haunting and memorable tracks on the album with numerous throwbacks to 80s power-ballads.

Download:

Starts With One,

Le Disko,

You Are the One,

Shaken

Can it be midnight, now?

Linkin Park is not really a band known for quality music. But they are known for infectious melodies and ready-made rap interludes with electro-DJ-Rock as backing music. So what happens when they dump the nu-metal and run with super-producer Rick Rubin?

You'd think a great album. You'd be terrifically wrong.

So, what does the new Linkin Park sound like? I don't think they even know. Minutes To Midnight, their third album in the last 7 years, sounds like a badly put together mix CD of crappy bands. From one song teetering on the verge of turning into a Rob/White Zombie imitation band to the next which sounds like Nick Lachey turned rock (with even worse vocals) [that, or the horrible praise rock that is popular in Protestant circles]. In their last two efforts they had masterfully blended different genres to a polished, radio-friendly product. A fact that made them an interesting band to listen to. But that is exactly what is lacking.

My second concern with this album is the overwhelming amount of bad politics surrounding it. I think artists should stick to their trade. They should make meaningful music about their personal struggles, because I believe art can be a form of therapy. Linkin Park does not do this even marginally well. Artists like this influence the young populace in America. If they make a blatant statement about their stance on a certain political issue they should first spend some time studying how this country works and what the facts are about the issues they are writing about. I do not know the extent that this band has in studying international politics and United States policy but I doubt, because of their career, that they are in the position to address them. Minutes to Midnight is littered with references to the Iraq War and the disaster in New Orleans. No matter what partisan side Linkin Park falls under, they should keep politics out of their mostly-introverted music.

Third, the lyrics on this album have come from mediocre to terrible. In the song "Valentine's Day" the lyrics follow that of bad poetry written by a 15 year old on MySpace.

Shown here:

And the clouds above move closer

Looking so dissatisfied

And the ground below grew colder

As they put you down inside

But the heartless wind kept blowing, blowing

So now you're gone, and I was wrong

I never knew what it was like, to be alone

On a Valentine's Day!

The last line is repeated as a ready-made chorus with Linkin Park's signiture power chords playing under it. I was driving with my girlfriend when we were listening to this song for the first time and once the "chorus" hit we looked at each other and started laughing. Chester sings it with such passion and without any sense of irony that it is hard to take him seriously.

I am very unimpressed with this album. Linkin Park has begun to take themselves too seriously in an ineffective new sound. The new album title might be appropriate, not for the world (like they mean) but for the life of the band.

Download (Only if you must):
"What I've Done" and "The Little Things Give You Away"
-these are the best two tracks on the album, and "What I've Done" is the better of the two.

The Bird and the Worm

I used to like The Used. When their first single, 2002's "Box Full of Sharp Objects", hit the airwaves I immediately ran out to the record store. Soon after, I found their self-titled debut to be one of the albums with the highest rotation in my collection.

However, the music I listened to in high school was definitely not what one would call "top quality." Five years later I find that I had lumped the album with the likes of Rufio and other bands I care not to name; my section of guilty pleasures and nostalgic bands.

A couple weeks ago, my friend and I were listening to my iPod on shuffle and a song by The Used came on. As I reached for the "next" button he stopped me and told me that he hadn't heard the song in a while and that he was, like me, once infatuated with the band. So we listened and sang along and even tried to scream along. Not much later we were listening to the whole album. As it ended we decided to give the sophomore album "In Love and Death" a spin. Let's just say it was a short one. I figured that it was simply because we had no nostalgia for the album and because we didn't listen to it quite as much as we did the first. That, or it was simply a worse album. It nonetheless put the band back in my mind.

What had happened to The Used? I knew the goings-on of their brother band My Chemical Romance, who I still listen to, but nothing about The Used. So, I wikied them. According to Wikipedia, the band had an album set for release on May 22 of this year entitled "Lies for the Liars". The lead single, "The Bird and the Worm" had been released in late March. For the sake of keeping up with the band I listened to the single. I, honestly, wasn't expecting much. I expected loud guitars and Bert switching from singing to screaming fairly often, the typical Used single. I am happy to say I was wrong to think that.

The first few seconds made me think that I was listening to a piece from a Danny Elfman soundtrack. Low, driving strings and the sound of a creaking door provide a lead-in to Bert's voice, then the guitars kick in. I was surprised to hear the strings come in again throughout the song, and prominently, too. Not only are the strings heavy, but there is an epic-sounding choir which adds a gothic and menacing air to the song. Even more surprising is that the lyrics are interesting, too. They point to a fear of rejection that cripples some people. They're dark and Bert's singing makes them sound even brutal. "The Bird and the Worm" is an extremely well-layered symphonic piece of rock music.

I now find myself looking forward to the May 22 release of "Lies for the Liars". I think I'm infatuated... Again.

Download the song. You'll hear what I mean.

Follow the link:
The Used - "The Bird and the Worm"